Mel Metcalfe is an American producer and actor who has been involved in the showbiz industry since the early 90s. Throughout his career, he has worked as a producer for movies, documentaries and shorts. Besides producing he has also had acting roles and served as videographer for documentaries as well. His earliest credited performance was an acting role in 1989’s Marco.
Early Life: Passion for the visual arts
Not much is known about Mel’s childhood life. He came from a middle-class family with proud traditions. He showed a passion for the visual arts and pursued a career in production, direction, acting and arts from an early age. As a young man, he tried to get into acting but found more passion for directing and crafting.
Career: From directing to catering
Mel Metcalfe has had a long career in the film industry. Starting from 1989, he has worked as an actor, documentary maker, cameraman and art director. He has so far been involved only with small-scale creative projects. He is versatile with equipment as well and managed cameras and electrical equipment. Despite this, he is primarily a documentary filmmaker. While he has many projects under his belt none of them have been critically successful nor have they been nominated for exceptional work.
So far, Mel has produced one film, two documentaries and 3 short videos. He has also acted in two films and on one video short. He has also been involved in TV shows when he shot a documentary for Who Made You. He provided services as cinematographer for documentaries and even worked as a set construction supervisor in one of his shorts. He edits documentaries and in one instance also provided catering services for the documentary crew of a project he was editing. His last credited work was in 2014 as editor and camera operator for the documentary 'A Golden State of Mind: The Storytelling Genius of Huell Howser'. According to IMDb Mel has 18 credited projects between 1989-2014.
Romantic Life: Scandal with the in-laws
Mel has had a rather colorful romantic history. In 1996, Mel met Australian model and actress Portia De Rossi at a party. The two hit it off instantly and it wasn't long before they tied the knot. The marriage didn't last too long, unfortunately. In 1999 the couple split rather dramatically.
Portia De Rossi was a closeted lesbian at the point and admitted that she was afraid to come out. She also claimed that she married Mel Metcalfe to acquire a green card to say in the United States. She added,
'But I didn't get my green card through him - I couldn't do it at the end. By the end of our first year together, despite my desire to be attracted to him, my latent fear of my real sexuality was simmering and about to boil.'
After three years of marriage, Mel started an affair with wife Renee Kappos. Unfortunately, Renee was married to none other than Mel's then brother in law Michael Rogers. The affair took a serious turn and Mel eloped with Renee. The harsh split was a lesson for Portia who then decided to accept her sexuality. She then dated Francesca Gregorini for years until she met her now wife, comedian and host Ellen DeGeneres. Mel Metcalfe then moved away with Renee Kappos and the two have been distant from media platforms.
Family Life
Mel Metcalfe was married to Portia De Rossi, then involved with Renee Kappos but we cannot confirm if they are still married. Mel has not been active in the industry and news about him is scarce. His full name is Melvin M Metcalfe III, his father being Mel M Metcalfe II and his grandfather being the first in his family to be named Mel M Metcalfe. The exact details of his parents and family as a whole are not certain. However, we can confirm that he has a brother, Scott Metcalfe who is a producer like him.
Mel isn’t active on Instagram, Twitter or any other social media. His current net worth hasn’t been revealed to the public either. Mel Metcalfe has often been confused with actor Jesse Metcalfe. Jesse Metcalfe is also an American actor best known for his role in Desperate Housewives. This has led to images of actor Jesse Metcalfe being circulated instead of Mel’s. While they aren’t exactly lookalikes their similar names have caused confusion. It seems Met’s lack of mainstream success has caused him to be confused with others with similar names. This has led to him being confused as the actors of roles played by actor Jesse Metcalfe. He has also been confused as a sound engineer of the same name.
Mel's life seems to be little known about. Did we miss something? Please let us know in the comments below. Be sure to share!